The Group of Seven is a famous group of Canadian artists who formed with the mission to paint the truly rugged landscape of Canada; something they did not feel could be achieved with the popular European artistic style of the time.

Killarney Provincial Park is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a first annual Group of Seven Festival on July 18 to 20th. The weekend will highlight the area’s rich artistic heritage and commemorate the Park’s creation, which was in large part, influenced by Group of Seven members A.Y. Jackson and Franklin Carmichael.

Park activities are offered all weekend long within the park and also in the Village of Killarney. Be sure to take the time to stroll around the scenic Village and pop into a local restaurant for lunch or dinner! Watch a short video on the festival on our YouTube channel.

In the fall of 1921, artist Lawren Harris first travelled the north shore of Lake Superior. Moved by the rugged beauty of the landscape, he continued to return for many years, later accompanied by other members of the Group of Seven. These camping trips to the Superior’s north shore were a creative well-spring and inspired a large number of pieces including Harris’ 1924 work, Pic Island.

Today, travellers can explore the Algoma and Superior North Shore landscape preserved in paint by Lawren Harris while driving the scenic Lake Superior Circle Tour along the TransCanada – Highway 17. Whether you’re a painter, photographer or poet, let these landscapes inspire you to new creative heights.

The next time you visit Bon Echo Provincial Park in south central Ontario, north of Kaladar, take a good long look at the breathtaking beauty that surrounds you. Not only are the shining waters, rugged landscape and iconic Mazinaw Rock natural wonders in their own right, they also tell a little-known story about the origins of the Group of Seven. This is just one of the cool things about Bon Echo.

While most of us tend to associate the works of the world-famous group with Algonquin Provincial Park and more northerly Ontario climbs, artists such as Arthur Lismer visited Bon Echo to capture its beauty on canvas. And just to demonstrate the value of his work during that time period, Sotheby’s fetched a record $780,000 for Lismer’s painting, Bon Echo Rock in June 2010. The painting was sold to an Alberta collector who paid more than $1 million for the piece and several other Canadian historical items.